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Tesco BL08 Value Liquidiser

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Great value basic blender, costs under ?15. Functional item which works pretty well. Its 1.5 liter capacity is perfect for soups, milkshakes and smoothies. With a 350w speed setting, it can however be a bit noisy. „

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Thanks for Reading :)

= = = = = =The Price= = = = = =

I paid around £8 for this Tesco Value Liquidiser a few years ago, as I was on a look out for a cheap basic liquidiser that I could use on a daily basis, and having been happy with other valued items from Tesco I decided to give this ago, being only £8 meant it wasn't a huge loss if it turned out to be useless. Having a look online, the Tesco website no longer sell this value range liquidiser, however it is worth checking auctions on eBay as you may be able to find it for sale at even lower price.

= = = = = =The Design= = = = = =

The appearance of this liquidiser is very simple, it's base has a white plastic finish and a dark grey coloured control dial located on the front. The transparent jug has a 1.5 Litre capacity and sits on top of a white base. The control dial has 5 speeds which are labelled on the outer skits of the control dial. Inside the jug is where the blades sit, and on the jug there is a large white plastic handle and a safety lock lid.

= = = = = = =Experience= = = = = = =

The Capacity ~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Tesco Blender has a thin like design which makes it look slightly more compact than your average blender. Despite it appearing thin in size its jug still has a large 1.5 capacity which is excellent for the price paid. I tend to use this mainly for liquidising up fruit or ingredients for dishes and find its capacity enables me to make more than enough for my dishes. The results are also pretty good and works like you would expect an average blender to work.

How To Use~~~~~~~~~~

To operate you just plug in the power cable into the mains and then insert ingredients/food you wish to liquidise into the 1.5 litre plastic jug. Once added, the lid is then twisted on to ensure that it safely locked into place. The blender has 5 simple speeds to choose from which include P for pulse, 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Each speed is clearly labelled on outer rim of the control dial, and are pretty much self explanatory. The 0 being the turning off speed.

The Results~~~~~~~~~~

I found that it works well in liquidising fruits such as bananas, strawberries, mangos, melons etc however I found it was best to use pulse speed first to get the fruit slightly mushy and then increase the speeds to 3 for it have best results. However when blending fruit I also found it works quicker if you cut the pieces into thin slices, if you don't do this the blender still does the job but takes a bit longer.

I have used this when making chutneys, salsas, and marinades and found it worked excellently; it managed to blend really fast and sufficiently. For blending marinade ingredients I would usually opt for the pulse mode or the lower speeds (1-2), otherwise it would liquidise the contents too much. Basically higher speeds are best for fruit and vegetables, and lower speeds are best for marinades and chutney etc.

Is it Noisy?~~~~~~~~~~

It is quite noisy during use, however I wouldn't say it isn't nosier than your average blender. Its 350 watt power works well and enables the blender to cope with all the speeds effectively, allowing the blade to rip through the contents with ease.

Measuring Scale & Safety Feature~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The jug also has a measure scale which is very useful when you need to control the amount of liquids you add. For example when making healthy milkshakes, I can easily add the required amount of milk without worrying about measuring it separately. The safety mechanism ensures that the blender doesn't operate when the lid is not locked on securely; this is a great safety feature that gives that extra reassurance and peace of mind when using it with younger kids around.

Cleaning~~~~~~~~

The Tesco value blender is fairly easy to clean, as the attachments can be easily removed. It is not dishwasher safe, but that isn't a huge issue for me as a quick soak in water and a scrub with a soapy sponge manages to get it clean fairly quickly. The base being coloured white does make it prone to getting easily dirty, but I do make sure I wipe it with a cloth straight after use to ensure no staining etc. The quality is overall very good for a Tesco Value appliance, as I have had mine for a couple of years now and it still fully operational.

= = = = = = Conclusion= = = = = =

Overall this is a great basic liquidiser that safe and easy to use, and produces good results. The price I paid for this appliance makes it more than worth it, and therefore I would highly recommend this Tesco Value liquidiser.

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Good for the price but not perfect

This blender has its limitations but given that it cost under £15 (I cannot remember the exact amount when we bought it) it is a real bargain. In terms of being a functional blender it works perfectly well. It has a 1.5ltr capacity so is perfectly adequate for making juice drinks or soup for the whole family, well at least our three person family unit.

Looks wise this is not the most attractive blender not that I would necessarily have a blender on display anyway but this one certainly belongs in the plain box that it comes in when not in use. It is a very functional design rather than a stylish one. The instruction leaflet is nice and easy to understand and it is very easy to assemble as you just pop the jug into the base and turn it until it locks into place and then you are ready to go. The base is a white colour with a large knob in the middle with the various settings that the blender can run on. The jug is clear plastic so you can easily see the contents inside, the blender is certainly heavier that I expected it to be and all of the weight is in the base in order to keep it stable. There are anti slip feet on the base to keep it secure when in operation.

It is a two speed blender with a pulse setting and it is not the quietest I have ever heard especially when operating in the faster of the two settings. It certainly can handle most food stuffs and also can crush ice as well for drinks youjust know when it is in operation as it is quite loud. It takes about two to three minutes to blend most fruit down ready for juice, certainly apples and banana's it takes the longest, especially the latter.

Cleaning wise it is nice and easy, the jug is easy to clean and there are no awkward edges where food gets caught up. Apart from the noise and the relatively boring design there is not a lot else to complain about with this product. It is cheap and functional and gets the job done.

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So-so product.

This is a type of product I get lots of use out of, so it was important to find something reliable and practical for the job without spending too much money. A liquidiser like this is ideal for making homous, soups and sauces as well as smoothies - and it's important that it does a good job of blending foods and liquids together effectively.

-ooo- The Product -ooo-

This is a value product, so immediately you understand the kind of product it's going to be and you know what to expect from it. You won't get anything complicated or fancy, and it won't be anything too special to look at, but it will do a good solid job hopefully - and this is why I bought it. The liquidiser looks very typical of the value range, as it's made out of white plastic and clear plastic, and looks very simple. It's certainly not bad looking though, and will look fine in a modern kitchen. Ideally, I'd like to buy a top range one - but on the other hand, it only needs to do simple things, so perhaps it's better to spend money on other things.

The liquidiser comes with all the usual features you would expect and need from this type of product - it can blend and pulse the contents of the jugs, has two blades at the bottom of the jug and a screw-on lid. The whole thing is very easy to use, and is quite simple to clean out when you've finished using it. There aren't really any difficult or fiddly parts to put together or clean out, so this is a very simple, easy to use product.

-ooo- Would I Recommend? -ooo-

Unfortunately, this product isn't a great liquidiser - although it has all the parts that you'd expect, and all the features, its basic performance isn't great. When you blend something it spins and makes a lot of noise, but just pushes the contents out and doesn't touch them. You have to shake the whole blender to make it work, which is annoying. It also makes a bit of a smell when it's on, almost like burning. You need to have a very liquid mixture in the blender for it to work, which is a shame.

Overall, it's hard to recommend this product because it just doesn't do the most simple job very well - it's very cheap (only £7) but it doesn't really perform like it should. You can use it with a bit of effort, but it doesn't make things as easy as it should.

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Great little product!

I decided to buy a blender while I was a student, so naturally, I headed for the Tesco value option! I picked up this blender in Tesco, in the electrical section. I wasn't looking for anything fancy, I just generally wanted to be able to make smoothies, milkshakes and blending soup!

***Purchasing***I brought this blender, around 2 years ago, for just under £7. It came in a box following the general theme of "tesco value" with the blue and red stripes etc. I thought this was great value, as I don't have complicated blending needs(!) so I wanted to go for something basic and didn't want to pay extra for it to look a bit prettier!

***Appearance***After taking it out of the box, I was quite pleased that it looked basic to use! It is a white blender base, with a dial showing 4 speeds, conveniently numbered 1-4! On top of the base, fits a clear blender cup with a white handle and lid. The blender base has a white power cable and mains plug.

***Function***The blender cup has a 1.5 litre capacity, which seems to be pretty much average along all blenders, even those which you pay loads more for! For all the purposes for which I use this blender for 2 people, it only needs approximately half filling. I have had no problems making smoothies, soup and milkshakes. You can use it on any setting, as even setting number 1 which is supposed to be the lowest setting is perfectly adequate for these purposes!The only downside of the blender is the level of noise! I have no frame of reference to compare it to, as I have not owned a different blender, but to me, it's loud! Living in a flat, I wouldn't feel comfortable using it after a decent time! I.e. no milkshakes when I get home from work at 1am! It's reasonable when on setting 1, but any higher than that and it makes a high pitched horrible sound!The lid is really useful, as it stops all the contents from splashing around and going everywhere. But also, it has a section in the middle of the lid which can be removed to add to be able to add ingredients/liquids etc.Although I had success with it for certain things, at one point, I did try and be adventurous! I attempted to make chickpea burgers and tried to blend up some chickpeas and onion. It didn't work too well I may add, it was as though the blades could not cope with harder items and didn't do a very good job of blending it and I had to set to my ingredients with a knife instead :-)

***Cleaning***It isn't a difficult item to keep clean, the base unit is a simple wipe clean job with a damp cloth and this has sufficed thus far! After using the cup, I always soak it in the sink in order to losen anything around the blades without having to stick my hand in there! The bit with the blades can't be taken off, however I have never found it a problema s I always soak it straight away. The lid is easy to keep clean as it has no crevices for bits to get stuck, and the section that comes out for adding ingredients can obviously be taken out for washing up.

***Overall***I would definitely recommend this product, as long as you don't want a blender with all the bells and whistles, this option will give you excellent value for money. The only downside really for me, was the noise... if I lived in a house, rather than an upstairs flat, would even consider that a problem.It's really simple to operate and even comes with an instruction book on using it and fitting the lid on, should you have any problems! I've been using it now, a couple of times a week for around 2 years and it's still going strong. Definitely a reliable and recommended product.

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Fantastic blender I love it !!

When me and partner decided we would like a blender to make smoothies for breakfast we are going to go for a Kenwood £45 model. Then we heard about this one!

We bought this blender about a year ago and paid £12 for it. The cost definitely does not reflect the quality of this product. We have used it for everything, fresh fruit, frozen fruit, ice cubes, veg to make puree, veg for soup and even mixing up ingredients to make ice cream!

This blender is absolutely fantastic, it chops everything up without leaving big lumps, it is quick, easy to clean and holds a good amount of liquid. It has an easy pour spout also which helps make sure you have no unwanted spillages! If you do want to make a more chunky soup you can use the quick buzz setting which whizzes it and stops as soon as you let go of the button. I wasn't sure this would work but my chunky tomato soup came out absolutely perfectly.

I would definitely recommend this blender to anyone looking into buying one, you do not need an expensive, brand model when this does everything you will ever need a blender for.

For £12 this product was an absolute steal and we will continue to make smoothies galore!! ( I actually think these are even cheaper now). PERFECT!

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If you're after a cheap and cheerful blender this is the one for you

Basically, my afternoon was interrupted by my sister who said - "I'm popping out to get a smoothie, you want anything?" My normal answer is usually along the lines of a can of Coke/packet of pickled onion Monster Munch, the kind of thing that ends up in instant gratification. However, this one afternoon I thought to myself I wonder if I can out do the smoothy she'll bring back by making my own. To the cupboard I went to unearth our blender. Then came a massive let down. The blender was bust.

So, a few Google Shopping results later plus a phone call to my local Tesco and I was in the car with my sister en route to a BL08 Value Liquidiser for just £9.99. Bargain.

To be honest there's not too much you can say about a blender, unless it's one which looks like it should belong on the set of Star Wars and costs mega amounts of money...and this one ticks neither of those boxes.

But, that's definitely to this Blender's advantage and it's why we love Tesco Value products like these - robust, cheerful and above all CHEAP. In fact, with my sister purchasing two Innocent smoothies for a fiver it felt like even more of a steal.

Back to the house armed with bananas, strawberries, kiwi fruit, honey and vanilla yogurt...five minutes later I was sipping on a damn good smoothy. Although my sister maintained the Innocent one did taste better.

Out Of The Box: Plug & blend. Comes in two parts - the bottom heavy bit which houses the speeds-mechanism (Pulse, 1 or 2) and the top jug.

Price: £9.99. Absolute bargain.

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A great blender at a very great price!

I only use a blender for three things; soups, smoothies and (now) baby food. This has always been the case, so when I'm on the look-out for a new blender I tend to go mainly on the price rather than whatever features are/aren't available above and beyond its blitzing function.

This is why I'm the proud owner of this Tesco Value blender. Costing around £6 almost three years ago it has been a diamond, doing as good a job as blenders which cost ten times the amount.

Obviously, for this price there are no bells and whistles to be found on this blender. The most 'exciting' thing about it is the fact that it has four speed functions, something which stops being exciting once you realise that one speed setting is very much like the rest of them and (other than the tortured noise the blender makes when using the highest speeds) it doesn't make one iota of difference which setting you use! This sounds like a very negative comment, but it's actually not as serious as it sounds because whatever setting you choose to use you'll get good smooth results and for my (admittedly basic) needs this is fine.

The blender itself is 350W, which is pretty powerful for such a cheap machine, with the jug comfortably holding 1.5 litres of fluid. This doesn't make it the largest blender jug you're ever likely to come across, but for a pan of soup or smoothies for the family it's fine. I have a large family so sometimes have to make smoothies up in a couple of batches, this isn't a problem for me personally but do take the time to think about whether the size of this blender is going to be suitable for your needs before purchasing it.

There's a safety function which means the blender will not work until the lid is clicked into place; this is an excellent addition to the product in my opinion as leaving the lid off while blending will not only result in a kitchen covered in goop, but also may leave the user with blended fingers if a fit of absent-mindedness were to cause you to put your hand into the inviting looking smoothie! I've never tested this safety function as I don't fancy the goopy kitchen look, but it's great to see something like that incorporated into such a cheap gadget.

One issue I've come across very recently is the fact that the blades are raised quite highly off the bottom of the jug, this isn't a problem when blending a jug full of fruit or chunky soup but when it comes to blitzing tiny portions of baby food the blades just don't reach half of the ingredients. I've got around this by batch cooking David's dinners and freezing it in portions, but sometimes when I'm not being very organised it would be useful to be able to blend a single potato and carrot just to get him through one meal.

The blender is very easy to clean, the blades don't come out but I find a soak in hot water will remove most of the gunk from around them so all that's needed then is a quick (and careful) wipe with a dishcloth to get them and the bottom of the jug clean. The lid just needs normal washing as there are no crevices or nooks where gunged up fruit or veg can stick.

As I said, I've owned this blender for very nearly three years and it has been used at least every other day in that time. I make quite a lot of soup and have never come across an ingredient that this blender doesn't like, it cuts through and liquidises everything I've ever thrown at it and will also crush ice speedily with none of the burning smell that my mum sometimes gets when adding ice to her (more expensive) blender. I've had absolutely no problems with it, I dislike the 'skeletal' appearance of it but have got used to it over time and really I wouldn't have wanted to pay an extra tenner just for an attractive black lid and handle anyway!

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Very good value

Occasionally I do a bit of baking. I've got an electric mixer but am not allowed to use it because it makes too much mess.

Now I've got a blender; I AM allowed to use that because my wife likes fruit drinks. It makes the same mess as a mixer, but different standards are applied!

I bought it really to liquidise the home-made soup that I make, but apparently, what my wife likes best about my home-made soup is its chunky nature. I can't win!

So, since I cannot tell you about my gloriously lump-free home made soup, I shall have to focus on my drink making exploits. I only make these on a Sunday most weeks because we stock up on fruit and veg every Saturday morning.

The first time I used this, I didn't chop up the fruit into small enough pieces and it didn't like it and stopped. I 'pulsed' it and eventually it coped. Next time, I chopped the stuff a bit finer and it was.....fine.

This model was Tesco's cheapest at £7.99 back in the Spring. I've probably used it about 10 or 12 times so it hasn't had a lot of use. However, it's lasting well so far.

The liquidiser comprises a base unit and a blender jug incorporating a measuring scale, within which is the blade assembly. Finally, there is a lid to go on the top after you have put in all your ingredients. I haven't left it off yet, but even if I did, the safety mechanism would prevent it from operating. I have thought it prudent not to tempt fate by testing this feature.

There are 4 speed settings available as well as a 'pulse' mode, which I seldom need to use now that I am chopping up things a bit finer.

When you switch it on, it's a bit noisy to say the least, but it doesn't take long, starting off at 1 and progressing to the top speed setting of 4 to make a litre of smooth drink at a time. That's mostly gone by breakfast time on Monday. You can make up to a litre and a half, but I find that if I fill it too full, it copes less well - and in any event I don't want the level too close to the top.

It's easy to keep clean - when you have emptied the jug, just half fill it with soapy water and switch it on. That helps to get rid of any bits and makes it easier to wash it as normal.

I have not previously had a mixer so it's difficult to make comparisons. For our limited needs, we have found it to be perfectly OK and for the price, it has to be a 5 out of 5 for me.

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Exceptionally good for the money.

Being vegan, a lot of the food I eat is what I make myself and a lot of this is homemade soup or dip. At the start when I ventured into my new way of life I naturally picked up some vegan cook books, some said you'll need X amount of utensils, some even said they have recipes excluding a cooker. But every single one I came across said I'd need a food processor/liquidiser/blender whatever you want to call it but at the end of the day they all to one thing - turn multiple solid ingredients into one liquid substance. Short of buying a hand blender, everything I Googled, Argosed or saw in a shop window was £30+ which I was morally against paying. One day I was browsing what Tesco had to offer and I found this liquidiser for under a tenner! I couldn't believe my luck. Over time this product seems to have been changed a few times before actually discontinuing it and replacing it with BL09 which is pretty much the same.

--Product--Comes in the standard Tesco Value packaging, white sturdy cardboard box with a picture of the product on the front and the name with a lovely 'Tesco Value' logo at the top in all of its blue and red glory.On opening the box you get the product and a two-page leaflet of instructions. The jug itself securely fastens onto the bottom bit and locks in place and easily comes off with one twist to the left. Liquidises up to 1.5l or 48oz.On using the product, all seems to be going well with everything I put in there except when I start trying to mix some icing sugar, Vitalite margarine and soya milk (Nanaimo bar middle layer). All I can see going on is this cloud of dusty sugar being chucked around on the inside and nothing seems to be liquid at all. I took the lid off and had a peep inside, the food that had been local to the blade was a lovely smooth yellow colour as needed but the rest of it was up the sides and still very much solid. I had to spoon the remaining solid ingredients on top of the blade and instead of blending continuously I use the 'pulse' function and I ended up with the lovely custard coloured smooth Nanaimo bar middle layer I wanted.

My husband has made multiple fruit smoothies with it and gets a lovely smooth consistency minus any random lumps and the only problem he has ever had is that on the odd occasion a bit of the ingredients get stuck under the blade.

It very easy to clean and has three speeds, 1, 2 and pulse. 1 is average, 2 is faster and pulse is for short bursts when you're trying to liquidise tough stuff.

--Price--Was available on Tesco Direct (and in some larger stores with an electrical section) for £8 but I think it has been discontinued and has been replaced with Tesco Value BL09 blender. Which looks (and appears to be) exactly the same but the nob on the bottom is white instead of black and so is the lid.

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A great blender

Blenders are these days can cost alot of money and but to me a blender is a blender, and you use them to blend food with. This liquidiser I picked up for £8 in Tesco which I think is a bit of a bargain.

I originally wanted a blender for making cocktails for my birthday with ice cubes and this really did the job I was able to mix alcohol with the ice cubes in the liquidiser so I had some nice cool and refreshing drinks. The liquidiser had no problems mashing up the ice and its quicker than a Mr Frostie! I was also able to make some nice alcoholic milkshakes too using ice cream with liquers.

It is not just alcohol I use this for though, I don't have a problem lol. I have also used it for making soups with. I chop the vegetables boil them then pop them in the blender to make lovely soups. The speed setting means you can blend the food at a slow or fast pace depending on how purified you want your food.

The blender is easy to use the jug attaches to the bottom easily You then pop the lid on twist the dial and away you go. The blender will not work if the jug and lid are not put on properly which is great it means you are not going to find yourself covered in whatever you trying to blend if you accidently forget to put the lid on.

I would recommend this blender if what you want to do is blend. It doesn't look the greatest but it does the job for me.

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You don´t need to spend a lot.

Sometimes you don´t need to spend much on a product to get what you need, and I think the Tesco Value blender is a good example of this. There are some really expensive models out there, and while they are probably going to last longer than this, I think this is an excellent buy for someone who doesn´t want to own an expensive product, but just wants the basics.

This looks like a more expensive model I think - it´s not cheap-looking, and though it´s basic, it does everything you´d need. There´s lots of room inside and the blades do a good job of cutting up food or mixing liquids. I find it gets a bit stuck if you have a lot in, and you may need to shake it to get things moving again, but this isn´t a big problem.

There are several speeds, although I tend to just use the slowest one, although it´s useful also to pulse the food if you just need a quick wizz. The product is pretty easy to clean, and comes apart easily, so you don´t need to worry about food getting stuck to parts of it. After several months of using it, it´s a little marked in places and has scratches on it,, but it´s still clean and still works perfectly well.

Overall, I think this is an excellent budget product and is well worth buying.

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Value for money

This is a basic liquidiser from Tesco from there cheaper and more basic value range. It has a 1.5 litre jugs and has a 350w speed setting. It weighs 1.46 kg and comes in a plain white design.

With a jug that has a capacity of 1.5 litres it is quite large considering the price you are paying. From looking at other blenders and liquidisers 1.5 litres seems to be about the average size, including those from the more expensive brands. 1.5 litres is the equivalent of about 2.6 pints, so should be enough for making smoothies for a small family, otherwise you may have to make 2 batches.

A power setting of 350w is quite strong and while not the best setting out there matches those of other more expensive brands and is enough to satisfy most needs.Some things make be difficult to blend and so you may need to chop theme up (e.g something like onion) and also for bigger and harder items can get stuck as they block the blades. This can be solved by giving it a bit of a shake, otherwise you may not have chopped it up enough.Simple things however like a banana milkshake work perfectly fine as they use softer products.

It has 4 different speed setting so you can change how fast the blades spin to suit your need, however I find myself just leaving it on the highest the whole time. But it is good to have nether the less.

The lid has a safety lock to make sure the contents don't end up blasting the lid of and splashing you in the face, and since that hasn't happened to me so far, I guess it works.

The design is very plain with a white surface with a black dial for choosing the speed settings, while the jug as expected is transparent. It is nothing special to look at, but can be easily stored away while it is not being used so it isn't too important.

It says that it is not suitable for dishwashers and so has to be washed in the sink. However I wash it in the dishwasher anyway and it seems to be fine. However it is best to make sure you rinse it quickly after using it and stain can stick to it that may not come out in the dishwasher and so will need a good scrubbing in the sink otherwise

It can be brought from Tesco for £8.91, which is great value for the money and despite being so much cheaper than other alternatives its specifications still match up to other liquidisers that are selling at higher prices.

Overall this is a good product that works as good as you would expect it to for a product of its price, if not better. It is basic and cheap so good for students and people looking to spend less.

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A value liquidiser from Tesco.

Since moving into my own house last summer I'm always on the lookout for new things to buy to add to my kitchen. I seem to collect kitchen gadgets in a sense, most of them I don't even use more than once or twice and some of them are even still in their boxes! However I didn't let that put me off while browsing in Tesco the other week when I came across a liquidiser, it somehow ended up in my trolley even though I didn't really need one but I've always fancied making my own smoothies and soups!

The Tesco BL08 value liquidiser is part of the Tesco value range whereby they try to beat the price of branded products; the range also includes other kitchen accessories including a kettle and a toaster. The liquidiser came in a rather plain white box which showed a picture of it along with the product name and some other minimal details. Inside the liquidiser was unassembled and well wrapped up which was just as well as I managed to drop it not once but twice while carrying it from the car to my house!

The liquidiser itself looks... well it looks cheap. The white plastic base has a slight sheen to it and has a white plug attached to it which you will obviously need to connect to an electric supply. The jug itself fits on easily enough to the base, you just need to make sure you twist it on until you hear it click otherwise the power won't come on. Do be careful of the rather sharp blade too. The lid needs to be twisted on until it clicks... if it's not attached properly the power won't come on again which is good.

The liquidiser comes with a small user guide inside which is printed in English only. The booklet includes safety guidelines which even stipulate how to put a plug onto a wire which seemed a little pointless as the plug was already attached. It also contains a simple diagram of the liquidiser and its components including how to assemble it and also how to safely fit both the jug and the lid to the base. Lastly it includes operating and cleaning instructions, the jug is dishwasher proof and it contains the warranty details.

So what's the technical information? Well the liquidiser has four speed settings, obviously you're not going to use the faster one for blending really large food items, it's best to start with the slower speeds to break up food before moving onto the faster ones. It has a 300 to 500 power wattage depending on the speed setting you've selected and the jug has a 1.5 litre capacity with careful measuring marks engraved into the jug in case you want to measure out anything. The whole thing only weighs 1.98kg too.

My Experiences

Smoothies - the first thing I tried to make was a smoothie, from memory I think it was apple, melon and orange. I chopped up my apple and melon into small cubes (about the size of two sugar cubes), I also chopped up an orange and added both ice and orange juice too. I locked the lid on and set the speed to setting two for about thirty seconds before increasing it to setting three for a further thirty seconds. The noise was quite loud although not as loud as I've heard in restaurants before and it did become quieter as the apple and melon pieces were broken up. I then poured the smoothie into a glass, the pointed spout means it's quite easy to avoid any sort of spillages and hey presto it was done! It tasted delicious and the whole thing took about three minutes to make from start to finish.

Soups - this is my most recent experiment with my liquidiser, I only made my first soup last week and it was a huge success! I boiled some carrots, leeks and potatoes in a chicken stock until they were fairly soft and then I let them cool down. I then poured then into the liquidiser and added a bit of chicken that I had left over before blending the whole thing for about two minutes, firstly on speed setting two before moving up to speed setting three. I found I had to add a little more stock about halfway through just because it was more of a stew than a soup when I checked! I then poured it into a container and heated it up later for my tea. It was so easy to do; I used up all my old vegetables and had a really healthy tea. The only downside was due to the 1.5 litre capacity I had to repeat the process twice.

Conclusion

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this blender, at the very reasonable price of £7.99 I think it's quite a bargain. I've had mine for over two months now and tend to use it about once a week on average so I think I've already got my money's worth really. I like the fact that it won't even turn on unless the lid is securely in place so there's no chance of any accidents happening. My next experiment will be alcoholic cocktails for New Year! So in conclusion it's cheap, easy to use and sturdy... what more could you want?